page_title: Epithelial dysplasia
section_title: Dysplasia vs. carcinoma in situ vs. invasive carcinoma
hierarchical_section_title: Epithelial dysplasia / Dysplasia vs. carcinoma in situ vs. invasive carcinoma
caption_attribution_description: English: Cervical Dysplasia. See a full animation of this medical topic.
context_page_description: Epithelial dysplasia, a term becoming increasingly referred to as intraepithelial neoplasia, is the sum of various disturbances of epithelial proliferation and differentiation as seen microscopically. Individual cellular features of dysplasia are called epithelial atypia.
  Examples of epithelial dysplasia include cervical intraepithelial neoplasia – a disorder commonly detected by an abnormal pap smear consisting of an increased population of immature cells which are restricted to the mucosal surface, and have not invaded through the basement membrane to the deeper soft tissues. Analogous conditions include vaginal intraepithelial neoplasia and vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia. Metanephric dysplastic hematoma of the sacral region is a dysplastic overgrowth observed in infants.
context_section_description: These terms are related since they represent three stages in the progression of many malignant tumors of the epithelium. The likelihood of the development to cancer is related to the degree of dysplasia.
  Dysplasia is the earliest form of precancerous lesion which pathologists can recognize in a pap smear or in a biopsy. Dysplasia can be low grade or high grade.  The risk of low-grade dysplasia transforming into high-grade dysplasia, and eventually cancer, is low. Treatment is usually straightforward. High-grade dysplasia represents a more advanced progression towards malignant transformation.
  Carcinoma in situ, meaning "cancer in place", represents the transformation of a neoplastic lesion to one in which cells undergo essentially no maturation, thus may be considered cancer-like. In this state, epithelial cells have lost their tissue identity and have reverted to a primitive cell form that grows rapidly and with abnormal regulation for the tissue type. However, this form of cancer remains localized, and has not invaded past the basement membrane into tissues below the surface.
  Invasive carcinoma is the final step in this sequence. It is a cancer which has invaded beyond the basement membrane and has potential to spread to other parts of the body. Invasive carcinoma can usually be treated, but not always successfully. However, if it is left untreated, it is almost always fatal.
caption: Cervical dysplasia illustrations showing CIN pathology
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